Happy Bath Ending

A/N: I will probably edit this more over the weekend...lord knows why I took percocets before I wrote this. I can barely spell my name at this point.

8/9/7-Updated. :)


The trek to the west land caves was not a long one at all, and it pained Inuyasha that Chisato lived so close to them, but had not seen Sesshoumaru for years. He had overheard elderly villagers once comment that Chisato so hated the Inu family, that she sent healing salts and terrain maps to the enemy in the Leopard Rebellion, knowing that Sesshoumaru and Inu no Taisho were fighting them. From what he heard, she hated Inuyasha more than anything and would happily align herself with anyone interested in exterminating the hanyou. The thought of it made his belly lurch.

The cave was high in the mountain, and the thin air would have probably killed weaker persons. Chisato made her cave high over the Western Land, high enough so that no intruders could enter. Inuyasha could feel how afraid Sesshoumaru was, and it scared him as well. If there was only one fear that the youkai lord had, it was his mother. Or better said, his mother’s wrath.

Near the peak of the mountain was the entrance of the cave. There were crystalline trees and everything sparkled beautifully, but it made Sesshoumaru sad. No warmth, no light, only frigid cold surrounded his mother’s quarters. Some of the dutiful servants that left with her that fateful day were still around, eyes widening and bowing quickly to him. He nodded coldly, and could feel their pity for him over the situation. The whole thing made him nervous, and he reflexively scratched at his cheek. They moved throughout the castle, Sesshoumaru’s bond with his mother guiding him to the correct spot. They approached large wooden doors with deep scratch marks in them. Sesshoumaru gulped and turned frightened eyes to Inuyasha.

“Reassure me.” It came across stoic and stony, but his eyes betrayed him. He looked as though he were about to break. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around his brother and held him for a brief moment before opening the door.

***********************

“What do you think is happening over there?” Sakura looked at her sister, hoping that everything was going well. Suzuka wiped a bead of sweat from her head and shrugged. They had taken it upon themselves to start to bury the dead girl in the forest, lest someone come and desecrate her body. Suzuka opened her mouth to reply, but a twig snapping caught their attention.

“What was that?” she snapped, both of them moving into a fighting stance. Their eyes narrowed, Sakura’s even more so upon seeing who was in the woods. She unsheathed her tanto, prepared to slice and dice.

“Aren’t you the woman that came to see Inuyasha the other day?” Sango asked, emerging from the forest with her hand on Hirakotsu just in case the girls wanted to jump stupid.

Sakura raised an eyebrow and both girls jumped backward to a safe distance. Instead of answering, they ran off, faster than even Kilala could run. The one that Sango didn’t recognize turned and stared at them a moment longer before seeming to disappear in to thin air. Sango pursed her lips and considered giving chase before she looked down at the body that was now halfway in a grave.

“Do you think they-?” Sango wondered aloud, but was cut off.

“No. If Sesshoumaru doesn’t interfere in human matters, I don’t see why he would allow his servants to. Or whoever they are.” Miroku knelt beside the girl’s body and said a brief prayer, placing a written prayer on her chest to aid her transition. “The one with the cherry blossom in her hair was the one that visited Inuyasha, right?”

“Ummhmm.” Sango looked around for clues to the girl’s killer, but couldn’t find anything. “This girl has been dead for days. I wonder though, why she was left here?”

Miroku placed his hands on his hips. “Even more importantly, why is she wearing Kagome’s clothes?”

Sango frowned. “Don’t you remember? About a week ago when Kagome and I were bathing, someone stole her clothes. It was probably that dead girl.”

Miroku suddenly looked interested. “Someone stole her clothes? While she was bathing? With you? Naked? That’s…that’s rude. So…um, what did she wear then? I mean…uh…since she was all wet and naked and stuff…and I could have been there to…uh…make her…um…not naked anymore. Maybe. And you too. Wet. I could have…helped. Yeah.”

Shippo, catching up to the older members of his group and pulling up short, looked confused as to the new lump over Miroku’s eye. Sango looked mad and Miroku looked injured, and he could only guess the context of the conversation that had made Sango punch him.

********************************

There was a rush of cold air that hit Sesshoumaru’s nose, almost making him want to sneeze. The room was painfully bright where he was standing, and he couldn’t focus his eyes. He felt her though, almost if she was right in front of him. Inuyasha looked a bit queasy, and he prayed that the hanyou wouldn’t upchuck at this important time.

“Hmph. What do you want?” A feminine and sweet, but searing voice echoed throughout the room.

“Mother?” Sesshoumaru wondered aloud, looking about for her. Another breeze passed by his face, this time leaving a streak of moisture. The next inhaled breath made him realize it was blood on his cheek.

“Maybe your father was right about you being an idiot. Didn’t I tell you when next we meet, you do not have a mother? Chisato is all I am to you, to anyone. Next time I’ll aim lower and slash your throat.” Chisato seemed to just appear in front of them, glaring at them angrily.

“Is that the disgusting hanyou your father created with that skag human? Aren’t you supposed to be tied to a tree?” she spat, laughing at her comment. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah. But obviously I’m not on that tree anymore. So you aren’t as funny as you think you are, eh, Shorty?” Inuyasha snapped back with as much venom in his voice as Chisato had.

Chisato scowled and turned to sit on her throne. “Why are you two bastards here?” Then she paused and looked around. “Planning a sneak attack, were you? I can sense another person is here. Show yourself,” she commanded, standing to her feet.

Sesshoumaru looked wan. “Mot…Chisato, that is why we came. There is a third person, but not someone to attack you. Your grandchild.”

Chisato narrowed her eyes, the golden orbs scary and hateful. “Who is the mother?” She barked, ready to kill all of them.

Inuyasha smiled and stepped forward. “Me.”

**************************

“So do you think they think we killed that girl?” Sakura asked for the fiftieth time. They had gotten back to the castle shortly after they fled, and Sakura seemed very worried.

“Why does what they think trouble you so?” Suzuka asked in an annoyed voice. Sakura shrank back at her sister’s harsh tone.

“It’s not what they think exactly, but you know how humans are, and they may try to say that Lord Sesshoumaru killed her.”

Suzuka looked thoughtful and shook her head. “I don’t think anyone would believe them. The town folk love him. Plus, he visited the town the other day with Master Inuyasha and mingled with them. It would make no sense.”

Sakura nodded, placated. Then she smiled and hugged herself, falling down eyes closed in the garden. “Did you feel how strong his arm was? No wonder Master Inuyasha swoons when they touch.” She raised her head and looked at Suzuka, who was blushing. “Awww, you are embarrassed!” she teased, poking at her sister. Suzuka reddened more and turned away, her salt and pepper strands wafting behind her.

“It did feel nice…but was even nicer was that handsome man we ran away from in the woods just now. If he were to give me a hug like Lord Sesshoumaru did…” she trailed off and smiled to herself.

“You like him? I can go back and get him for you if you want,” Sakura said, standing up, unsheathing her tanto.

Suzuka shook her head, smiling. “Why do you always do that? You’re such a weirdo. Perhaps later, but we have to watch after Rin first. There’s no telling what she has done to Jaken and Tenchi.” She blanched remembering the last time she stepped away from Rin. Tenchi’s hair was on fire and Jaken’s skin was yellow. All she knew was Rin was bad as hell and needed 25 hour surveillance. “You know how rambunctious Rin is. We have to keep her under control and breathing until Lord Sesshoumaru and Master Inuyasha return. After that, maybe we can explore the monk.”

Sakura gave her sister a wicked grin and nodded as they walked back inside the castle, chatting about baby names to suggest to their lords upon their return. Sakura found herself smiling at her sister’s interest in the robed man in the forest. Suzuka had been alone for so long, and it made her heart warm to know that Suzuka had a positive outlook on romantic things again. She personally hoped for a fight with the demon slayer. All this unsheathing and no cutting (aside from Kagome) was making her antsy.

*************************

Chisato looked at Inuyasha and laughed, sitting on the throne with her legs crossed. “My son would never stoop so low as to touch something as filthy and tainted as you. You are nothing more than the product of a sweaty romp and honor bound responsibility.” She leaned back against the throne, yawning and picking at her nails to show them how insignificant they were to her.

Inuyasha chuckled. “Hate to break it to ya lady, but Shou has done way more than touch me. I am his lover, companion, and partner in every way, position, and angle you can imagine.” He wore an almost daunting smirk on his face, the smirk deepening at the flutter from Sesshoumaru’s eyes. He had really no reason to be ashamed or hide, he enjoyed basking in Inuyasha’s sunlight. It was the first light he had in years.

“You think this is funny? You think that this is funny, you spoiled, stupid little imp?!!” Chisato roared, holding her claws in a menacing matter.

“Who you callin stupid, Stupid?” Inuyasha roared back. Sesshoumaru stared at them, and would have laughed if he wasn’t scared out of his mind. It reminded him of the fights his parents had, neither backing down for days.

“You are just as much an idiot as your father was. Never knowing when to shut the fuck up. Always yak yak yak with the mouth!”

“I yak with my claws too. Come get some, Mommie Dearest!”

Chisato paused and chuckled. “I don’t even see why I’m getting so upset. You’ll be dead in fifty more years.”

Inuyasha glared at her. “Too bad you won’t be around to see it. Besides, you have some nerve to get mad at your son for finding love, despite who it was with. One minute Sesshoumaru is your son, the next you hate him and want him dead. Us dead. You left him, practically to raise himself. How dare you pass judgment on us?” Inuyasha raised his head, angry golden eyes glittering. “I guess female dogs are called bitches for a reason, eh?”

Chisato flinched and turned her frustrations and her head toward a more or less silent Sesshoumaru. “How dare you do this! It’s not right! You allowed this hanyou to maim you, to steal your arm and make you a cripple! And you pay him back by inviting him into your bed chambers? You are your father’s son. You reek of human scent, both of you. You don’t deserve breath, so I shall take it from you!!”

Chisato’s eyes turned crimson and she stood, ready to attack, but before she could advance, both Tenseiga and Tessaiga started to glow brightly. She tried to move toward them, but her steps seemed quite labored, and a few steps before reaching them she fell, panting hard. The swords pulsed, making her features tighten and fingers clench from pain. The swords created a thick misama around them, something poisonous and impermeable to her.

“I see your father even from the grave insists on protecting your useless lives. Do you know why your swords have merged into a protective barrier?” she gargled at them, her chest heaving. She shook her head when she heard no response.

“It is because you are weak. You are weak, Sesshoumaru. And it is all my fault.” She placed her forehead on the palace floor, her white hair spread all around them, sobbing heavily.

Sesshoumaru’s chin quivered as the miasma broke and he dropped to the floor beside his mother, gathering the broken woman in his arms. He rocked with her back and forth as she wept bitter hundred year tears into his hakama. As soon as he touched her, he felt her true being and feelings, and was overcome with emotion.

“I knew I was weak when I was with your father. He treated me so badly, but I stayed because I loved him so. I knew he cheated on me with human women but I said nothing because he told me it wasn’t my place. I’m sure you remember the fights…the bruises…He wanted a hanyou son…and I agreed. But he wasn’t supposed to fall in love with her, he wasn’t!” Chisato raised red eyes at Inuyasha. “You were supposed to be mine,” she whispered sadly, burying her head in Sesshoumaru’s lap, ashamed.

“You were supposed to be born and given to us for me to raise, but he was afraid you’d end up loving me more than him. He was always jealous of Sesshoumaru. He didn’t realize that Sesshoumaru never asked me for anything, not even to love him. He was such a sweet boy, those big gold eyes always wide and receptive.” She reached up to stroke his cheek, and he growled lowly as she scratched gently behind his ears, soothing him. “He would always try to make up for the things his father did to me, never realizing that it wasn’t his fault. Despite his hard exterior, we are the same. Just wanting the people around us to love us and be happy.”

Inuyasha walked over to them and knelt down beside them. “I don’t want to play the blame game, but after father died, you could have tried to come back.”

Chisato shrugged. “I saw both of you every day. Your father agreed with me that I could see you, as long as I never made my presence known. He gave me special salts that masked my scent and made me sit in the trees around the woods. I watched you play together, and I watched you grow apart. Once your father died, I thought the bridge was beyond repair. I was content to never see either of you again.”

Sesshoumaru stared forward blankly, emotions pouring through him. Part of him wanted his mother to cling to him longer, part of him wanted to slice her in half. He wondered if every rustling tree branch, every gust of wind he felt, every shadow he saw fleeting, was actually his mother. It angered him. She had warped his life, his pride, his sense of thinking. It was she who had pitted him against Inuyasha for nearly his whole life, and she that made him hate humans so much. At the time he didn’t realize how or why, but knew that humans were the reason why his mother was gone, why he had a new sibling, why his father started treating him differently.

Chisato grabbed at Sesshoumaru’s vacant sleeve, fresh tears falling. “My beautiful, bright son…let me restore to you some of what you have lost.” Chisato stood and backed away from them, grabbing Sesshoumaru’s stump and ripping the sleeve away, baring the skin. She grabbed one of her arms at the shoulder and with a sickening ripping sound, she tore off her arm and placed the bleeding appendage next to his skin. It took a moment for his body to react, the skin quickly meshing together to form a working arm.

“It is the least I can do for you. I am…sorry.” Chisato glanced at Inuyasha and nodded her head. “There are many things about this family you should know. But…I am glad my son chose you as a mate. You are too stubborn and proud to have the sense to be afraid. That is admirable. I’m sure my granddaughter will be the same.”

“Yeah, I’m sure, she will…wait, you said granddaughter?” Inuyasha’s mouth hung open as Sesshoumaru smiled gently at him.

“Looks like Rin will have a sister then, huh?”

“Who is Rin, another grandchild?” Chisato asked, looking somewhat pained. Sesshoumaru smiled deeper and nodded. “A child I adopted. She is darling and inquisitive. Keeps me on my toes. You should come see her…us sometime.”

Chisato nodded, excited to be so readily accepted back into her family. I will do just that. Thank you, Sesshoumaru.”

He nodded. “You are welcome, Chisato.”

She looked sad for a moment and shook her head. “No. I am your mother. Refer to me as such.” She wrapped her arm around Sesshoumaru, cooing softly to him when his face broke and stroked his hair as he sobbed into her shoulder. He had found love, total complete love in a matter of days, and his heart was so full, he would not have been surprised at all if it had burst. She gestured to Inuyasha and both men held on to her, feeling a renewed spirit.

**********************

“Are you alright?” Inuyasha asked Sesshoumaru, staring at the new arm. They were walking back from the caves, hand in hand again. Chisato had kissed and fawned over both of them, giving Inuyasha herbs and elixirs to drink during his pregnancy. She acted like a normal mother, gently scolding them for using bad language and advising them on how to treat each other in their relationship. Sesshoumaru looked happy enough to pop. He nodded, looking slightly bewildered. The new arm looked exactly like his old one, but there was a silver line in it running from the middle of his palm all the way to the shoulder joint. It had a strange power running through it, as if his mother’s essence was totally infused in him.

“I didn’t realize the torment she felt over what happened. It is horrible to be unloved. I forgive her, for everything. And I still love her, Inuyasha.”

Inuyasha looked sympathetic. “I understand,” he whispered softly, embracing him. “She seems pretty cool. I could lover her too.” He smiled feeling Sesshoumaru’s new arm wrapped around him, warm and strong. “So buddy…what can you do with that new arm?”

Sesshoumaru easily picked Inuyasha up and threw him in the air, gracefully catching him and drawing him to his chest. “Lots of things…and wait until we get home so I can show you,” he breathed seductively, making Inuyasha squeal and squirm away from him. They laughed and ran through the forest, feeling lighter than air for the first time since their childhood.

A/N: Some subtle improvements, fleshed out dialogue, somewhat happier ending. Thanks for reading this and not sending death threats.